PURPOSE: This research explains ethics aspects of experiments in animals and human beings. CONTENTS: It is considered to be a very important issue because it focuses on the mental, spiritual, social and physical well being of humans, without forgetting the animal rights. The majority of the international health research codes mentions that human research must be based on previous laboratory animal testing or on scientific evidences. The author is reviewing the ethics concepts in humans and animal testing. He refers to the international policies for medical research on human beings, Helsinki Declaration, 8.080 and 8.142 of the 1990 federal law, 9.974 of the 1995 federal law and also to the 196/96 Health Department Resolution. Then, a historical retrospective is drawn about the first attempt to establish regulation on animal testing, which happened in the mid of the 19th Century, in London. He also emphasizes that some of the criteria used at that time remains up to the present. The first ethics commission in animal testing was established in Sweeden in 1979 and in the United States in 1984. In Brazil, the ethics animal testing committees were established in the early 90s. Since May 1979, there is the 6.638 Federal Law which establishes regulations for the practice of animal use in research or teaching. This law is still waiting to be enforced. In addition to it, there are some drafts being analyzed by the Congress to regulate the use of animal for the purpose of teaching and researching. Finally the policies adopted by the Brazilian College of Animal Experiments are presented by the author. CONCLUSIONS: The professors, post-graduates, residents and medical students , as well as other students from health related courses enrolled in human and animal testing researches must be aware of ethics principles aiming to protect researchers, research subjects and the animals selected for scientific work.
Ethichs, Research; Human Experimentation; Animal Experimentation